The much-beloved fantasy series returns to the small screen April
6 for its fourth season. Based on a series of books by George R.
R. Martin, " Game
of Thrones " follows a massive cast of characters vying for
the throne of the vaguely medieval world of Westeros. There are
dragons, horrifying "white walkers" and the occasional uterus
demon, but "Game of Thrones" is more grittily realistic than most
fantasy offerings. And that could be exactly why the show has
such mainstream appeal.

"We like the simplicity of a fake past, but we also need it to be
more complicated because our lives are so complicated," said
Charles Cox, a professor of literature at American University in
Washington, D.C. [ Sci-Fi
or Fantasy? 20 Imaginary Worlds ]

Fantasy's appeal

"Game of Thrones" falls in the category of high fantasy, which is
usually set in a fantastical pseudo-medieval or
pseudo-Renaissance world, with a large-scale and epic plot. These
worlds are appealing, Cox said, because they are void of the
technological
annoyances of modern life.

The Middle Ages and Renaissance represent "the most recent
preindustrial time," Cox said. "It's a time before mechanization,
industrialization and all this technology. … It's kind of hard
for people to be heroic when they're surrounded by machines that
can do everything."

In other words, charging into battle on a horse is cooler than
riding in an armored personnel carrier. And there's something
comforting about a world in which good triumphs and evil doesn't
come in shades of gray, Cox said.

"You never hear an orc in ' Lord
of the Rings ' say, 'Gee whiz, why am I fighting for this guy?
Maybe I should go home and plant flowers,'" Cox said of villains
of those tales. "You never have any doubt that not only is Frodo
Baggins the hero, no matter what, he is going to win."

Subverting fantasy expectations

But that's where "Game of Thrones" tips the fantasy tropes on
their head. In the cutthroat world of Westeros, nobody is purely
good. Even honorable Ned Stark, who (spoiler alert) doesn't
survive long, has cheated on his wife and has an illegitimate
son.

Martin's "characters are more than one-dimensional," said Michal
Hughes, a lecturer in English at Indiana University-Purdue
University in Indianapolis. "They're complicated. They're
definitely flawed."

As a result, Westeros seems more real-world than fantasy —
dragons and
ice
zombies aside. In that sense, "Game of Thrones" fits right
into a smorgasbord of dark, somewhat cynical programming.

"You've got 'House of Cards,' 'Scandal,' that I can think of
right offhand, where it's just dirty dealing," Hughes told Live
Science. Cox added "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" to the
anti-hero-heavy list.

So what's so fun about watching terrible people outmaneuver each
other? Part of it is the thrill of not knowing what's going to
happen next, Hughes said. Anyone could die, and not always for
terribly meaningful reasons.

"I think it's kind of appealing to people, because that's the way
the world really works," Cox said, adding, "There's something
weirdly compelling about rooting for somebody in spite of what
they do, rather than rooting for them because of what they do."

The gore and violence that "Game of Thrones" is famous for add to
this patina of realness.

"If you're going to insist the viewer care and have real stakes
in what is happening, there has to be that visceral horror to
it," Cox said.

In that sense, Martin is carrying a scepter passed on by fantasy
authors like Jack Vance and H.P. Lovecraft, who weren't afraid to
hurt their characters, Hughes said.